Grilling: Butterflied Leg of Lamb

Between brisket and the forthcoming turkey, I was able to get in a nice big leg of lamb, one of my favorite large cuts of meat.

Seemingly designed for the grill, a butterflied leg of lamb comes out perfectly medium-rare exactly when the outside develops a nice crust over medium-high heat. In addition to the easy cooking technique, this leg of lamb has a smooth lamby flavor with just the right amount of chew, making every bite a pleasure.

It's hard to improve on something already so good, but add mint to the equation and you're talking some seriously, seriously delicious eats. The two come together here as part of a tahini and lemon based marinade, which added a minty tang to the crust, only heightening this leg of lamb into one of the best pieces of meat to come off my grill this year.

Procedures

1

Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a blender and process until smooth. Place lamb in a large Ziploc bag and pour in marinade. Seal and toss bag to coat the lamb evenly, open and reseal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour or refrigerate up to overnight. If refrigerated, let lamb return to room temperature before grilling.

2

Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread coals evenly over the charcoal grate. Clean and oil the cooking grate. Remove the lamb from the marinade and grill until well browned, 12 to 16 minutes; turn and cook 12 to 16 minutes more, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 140°F in thickest part (for medium rare). Transfer lamb to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes.

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About the Author

Sharing his love between three beautiful grills and two handsome smokers (oh, and lets not forget a wife and a couple cats), Josh has a passion for grilling and barbecue that seems to grow bigger everyday.

Starting with a bi-weekly backyard barbecue series called The Meatwave in 2004, this pastime quickly became an obsession that turned into a full fledged recipe blog a few years later. He then brought those grillmaster skills to Serious Eats in 2008, delivering the best in grilling recipes every week. Taking the plunge from backyard to pro, he started up a competition team in the spring of 2012 and quickly added the "award-winning" label to his barbecue.

At this point, Josh has slow smoked and eaten so much pork, he's legally recognized as being part swine.